There has recently been renewed momentum of hope in the prospects of Rwandan football thanks to Amavubi’s decent showing at the just-concluded Total African Nations Championship 2020, where they reached the quarterfinals. The national side’s brave performance, which included a win, two draws and a defeat in their final game which was marred by questionable refereeing decisions against the Rwandans, seems to have galvanised renewed public interest, as well as a sense of pride and purpose in and around the team. It should be recalled that the players had not been involved in competitive football for months ahead of the 16-team continental showpiece with the novel coronavirus pandemic having forced authorities to suspend Rwanda premier league midway through last season. Years of underwhelming performances both at the national and club levels had driven away many football fans and fuelled disinterest among partners and potential sponsors, even prompting calls to put funds that were going into football elsewhere. Now that suddenly seems to be behind us. We are once again eager to throw our support behind Amavubi and hopefully the team will build on their encouraging CHAN performances and move forward. It is a fact that millions of Rwandans are passionate football fans and, therefore, it is fair to say that soccer is by far the most popular sport in the country. Indeed, there has always been a sense that the achievements of 2004 were not out of reach if we could sort out a few things here and there that undermined our football ambitions. Addressing the team at their Bugesera base on Sunday, President Paul Kagame urged the players to uphold discipline and self- and collective improvement, and everyone associated with the team to play their rightful role toward a common objective. The Head of State also promised that his government would offer the team an additional token of appreciation for their performance at CHAN2020. Speaking at the event, Amavubi’s fitness coach Serge Mwambari appealed to the government to consider devising a long-term football development strategy and building a state-of-the-art high performance centre, which would boast a variety of services, including football research and training of trainers. These are noble ideas that should be integrated in the Ministry of Sports’ broad strategy, which should seek to revive the sport right from the grassroots and schools. We have the talent, passion and public goodwill and what is required now is to consistently organise and harness these factors to compete on the continent and beyond. Promoting football and sports in general would also boost the country’s strategy for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE), a key source of foreign exchange and employment.
